Students start to dislike Facebook

Not logging on to Facebook might have seemed improbable a while ago, but now it seems to be a growing trend with youngsters. A recent study reported 'waning enthusiasm' for Facebook among American teenagers. Is Mumbai losing interest too? Karishma Venkiteswaran and Sneha Koshy report.

A recent study reported 'waning enthusiasm' for Facebook among American teenagers. Is Mumbai losing interest too?

Not logging on to Facebook might have seemed improbable a while ago, but now it seems to be a growing trend with youngsters. Take Narinder Kapur for example. The 20-year old, who deactivated his account six months ago, said, "It is like your life revolves around it: accessing it through smart phones, becoming a conversation topic with friends, and over-sharing personal life details."

The BMM graduate from SIES College, Sion, added, "I got irritated with it and don't see myself going back to Facebook in the near future."

'Facebook fatigue', a phenomenon characterised by the loss of interest in its activities by those who used to log into the social networking site regularly, has hit Western countries, according to social media pundits.

A Pew Research Center study reported the 'waning enthusiasm for Facebook' among teenagers in the USA. It also stated that there has been only a marginal increase in the percentage of Facebook users from 2011 to 2012.

Ashwin Dewan, 30, the founder of Geek4Green, a digital marketing company, said, "Though India is a relatively new market, people are now moving away from Facebook because of its commercialisation and opting for alternatives like Pinterest and Twitter."

Are Mumbai students distancing themselves from the social media giant? Sadaf Vidha, a 20-year-old BA student from Ruparel College, Matunga, said, "Facebook keeps changing its privacy settings, which puts me off." Another youth, a 19-year old BMS student from Jai Hind College in Churchgate, said, "It not only reduces productivity because all you do is stalk people, but also causes excessive spamming."

Some believe Facebook is just a passing fad. Shrishti Ambani, a 19-year old BBA student from Narsee Monjee Institute Of Management Studies, Vile Parle, said, "When we were young, it was fascinating to be on the site. As we grow older, our need to keep updating statuses and uploading pictures decreases."